Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1887-07-01

AN
specifies that it was for work done on ice
house, root house and hen house. And
during the months of June, July and Au-
gust, 1885, for these purposes. he drew out
of this fund $l,779S5. The addition to
barn was built on contract for $l,675, as
would appear from secretary's minutes,
and also from the vouchers on file in the
territorial auditors office, by Langfeldt
and Baker. From the above vouchers it
would seem that Mr.. Cobby's memory is
again at fault when he attempts to say, as
he did in his examination, that the money
for the ice-house did not come out of this
fund, but was taken from outside funds in
his hands.
All of the business transacted by the
trustees in disbursing the several funds of
which they took control was done i'll such
an unsatisfactory manner that it is impos
sible to tell where. or how, or in what
amounts the money was expended.
From the estimates made that we are
able to make from the improvement of
ground fund, from the testimony taken,
Mr.. Colby did not diSburSe more than
eighteen or nineteen hundred dollars in
making the improvements that he made
out Of this fund, and there would have
been plenty ofmoney in that fund to have
crete pavement as claimed in his report of
November 80, 1885, The concrete walk,
amounting to $43a.60 was paid for out OF
the employees fund, and an Overdraft of
$500 was paid for trees, as appears
from the vouchers drawn by Mr.. Colby.
This taking their last biunnial report as
correct. and it is the only thing that the
members OF the board claim to have given
particular attention, there is a shortage in
this fund amounting to $6S960. On the
fuel fund Colby doesn't deny that there is
an overdraft of $2909.98. On the other
funds out OF which the other several I'M
provements were made'by the trustees or
that scratching like 1890 ought to have
been saved in making the improve
mentS.
Making in all shortage out of the var-
Ous funds that passed through the trustees
hands as heretofore stated of $5,41l.53.
In making this report we have seen fit to
base our opinion upon the report made by
the trustees in November, 1886, in so far as
it is consistent This they all claim to have
given personal attention to, and supposed
it to be correct, and about all ether matters
IN detail they claim to know very little, if
anything.
From the careful estimates made and
lIoH MI UuC tColLHi"ly IhhCi1, ~ IL dppdl-
ent that everything ought to have been ac-
cOmplished a, detailed, and stated in that
report, and as shown by competent build
ers and contractors the sum of $1,92l.95
ought to have been saved out of the money
expended in repairs and building new
buildings.
We herewith submit as part of this re-
port the testimony taken at the examina-
tion.
ALI OF which is respectfully submitted.
4. n. HARRIS,
Public Examiner.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT.
ABERDEEN, DAk-, June %, 1873.
Gov ERNoR L. X. CHURCH, Bismarck, OAK:
DEAR SIR: have the pleasure of here
with submitting to you the reports of the
experts employed by me to go over and
verify, in detail, the report submitted by E..
j. Smith and j. r Gamble, attorneys for
the trustees of the Dakota hospital for the
insane, of the work done and superintended
by A. E. Colby for the said hospital for the
last two years.
This report was submitted to me on the
18th day of June, 1887, at Huron, Oak, and
purported to be a full and complete state
ment Of the work done and material bought
by A. E. Colby, during the last two years.
while experimenting and constructing the
improvements for the Dakota hospital for
the insane.
In that report Mr.. Colby charges him
self with 1924, 4,450, the money handled and
disbursed by him, and he then furnishes a
detailed statement, in which he enumer-
ates every purchase and the cost of the
same, every improvement and the esti-
mated cost of the same, in which he claims
to have expended $24.45477, being SAT-
more than there was in the several funds
which Colby dispersed, and there being
still left in said funds an unexpended bal
ance of about $6, making some $40, accord
ing to Mr.. Cobby's statement, that the ter
ritory is indebted to him for money over
paid in making these improvements.
AS all of this work was done by days
work under Mr.. Cobby's supervision, and
as Mr.. Colby on his examination claimed
he had no memoranda, nor records Of any
kind showing the cost Of these several i'm
provements, we take it that this report of
Mr.. Colby is altogether based on esti-
mates.
Owing to the manner and ways of doing
business during Mr.. Cobby's administration
there is no other method or way of getting
at the cost of the improvements made
there except upon making the estimate of
the cost of the several improvements
which will have to be done at contractors
prices and which will not, in my estima-
ton, represent the exact cost of this work
as Mr. Colby was paid out of the general
fund for the time he put in, in superin-
tending this work. The men for most of
this work were employed at a dollar and
half day, and the estimates we are
obliged to now put on this work are at the
regular contractors prices which are al
ways calculated on basis to allow for the
experimenting and profits for the con-
tractor.
In making these estimates by McAllister
and Ackley, they have taken Cobby's re-
port as covering the entire ground over
which he operated and have gone through
the same, item by item, and estimated the
several costs of labor and material, where
it was possible to get the same. Where
the work was so covered or out of the way
that they could not get at it to get exact
and make the proper es-
Inmates Of the cost of the material, they
have allowed Mr.. Cobby's figures. Meal